Blogs on Professional Development

Mashable defines gamification as "applying game thinking or even game mechanics into a non-game context. " Game mechanics in the "real world" include earning badges, completing missions and leveling up. Non-game companies, like Amazon, Deloitte and Salesforce.com, gamify to increase customer engagement. Gamification puts the customer on a journey motivated by intrinsic, or personally meaningful, rewards. An example is earning a "mayorship" badge on the mobile application Foursquare by "checking in" regularly to the same location.

During my years as a high school teacher, summer vacation was often the time to catch up on the reading I didn't have time for during the school year. My reading list frequently featured books unrelated to education, but I always included a book or two related to my teaching, as long as it was both thought provoking and readable. So I want to suggest some books that I think would be good to check out for this summer. These are my picks.

This blog was co-authored by David Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement.

As our previous post highlighted, most teachers interact daily with grieving students. A recent poll we conducted in conjunction with the American Federation of Teachers found that the vast majority of teachers would like to help the grieving children in their midst but feel that they lack the proper training. The good news is that teachers don't require extensive training to prepare them for making a positive difference in the lives of their grieving students. This post is intended to introduce some of the basic information.

I love May. The weather is as close to perfect as it will be all year in most parts of the country. The songbirds have returned to sing to us. My favorite sport, baseball, is in full swing. And best of all, May is both my birthday month and my sister's. And for educators, the arrival of May means that the end of the school year is closing in.